WIP Wednesday ~ Row by Row ~ What to work on next

Rows from Ontario, and the Maritimes

My mom and her husband came home from their nearly 7 week adventure across Canada with a month spent in Cape Breton.   The visited a number of Row by Row Stores for me!  

Now I'm trying to figure out which row to sew first.   I have two local rows prepped and ready to sew!   I think I'll start there.....  And thinking of what to make with the great license plate from Atlantic Canada ~ Sew Creative!

I have the baby quilt to finish, a guild challenge (I have pieced some English Paper Pieced Hexies....), another row by row.....   or ?

July was a very busy month.  I didn't get my baby quilt finished that I was working on.  BUT I did complete one row by row challenge quilt, and take it to the quilt store.... and I won!   First one completed.  Now my quilt is hanging at Quilted Treasures.

Love the techniques used
on this row!   Very UNIQUE!
Crayons and hand Embroidery

My Certificate

Some more rows, picked up in Washinghton

I find it interesting the differences between the Row by Row Patterns. It has been an Experience for sure. I have been into some great quilt shops, some out of the way, some right on the main highway. Some that I've driven by once a year saying "I must get in there". I've purchased some great kits! Some stores have been madly trying to make kits as I walked in.

Some of the patterns are professional. Others leave something to be desired.   Some are all black and white, some colour, others have great packaging or presentation, others are just copies on as few pages as possible.  Some are scarce on instructions and not intended for a beginner quilter.  Others have great instructions and my 9yo could probably follow with little help.  Some have had scale misrepresentation (stretched photos), copying issues, missing lines, etc.... MOST have been amazing!   Some of the stores have hidden the display in a corner, others have it prominently displayed.  Some have guest books, others don't....

Most from the west coast have been appliqué, with a little paper piecing. But I got a number of pieced blocks from out east.  I'm loving the different techniques that take me outside my "normal" skills....

My Row by Row quilt.
Its hanging at Quilted Treasures in Coquitlam, BC

Quilted, Bound and Labelled.  

I tried to do the Piped binding technique... didn't quite work.
Got a different effect!

My youngest wanted to do one square from
one of the rows.... in PURPLE!

My prizes!

Another Challenge ~ Needle & I Quilting, Burnaby, BC

Another local quilt shop is hosting a summer challenge. I had picked up the pink/purple and black striped fabric in July and before I left on holidays, and was trying to design a quilt for it. I had designed a fully embroidered design, but then didn't want to test out my designs.... So appliqué, prairie points, and thread couching with some detailed fine quilting.... and stash fabrics! Head in to Needle and I during the month of August to vote for your favourite!

Birthday Gifts
My older niece had her birthday this month.... So I made an embroidered, appliquéd hooded towel for her.  I love the French Frills Embroidery Designs!  This is an "stripeless" zebra!

My younger niece has a birthday in the fall.... I'm trying to decide between a frame like this.... or an embroidered hooded towel!

Renovations!

Are slowly progressing!

Highland Games!
After some very warm highland games this season, we finished the season at Enumclaw at the Pacific Northwest Highland Games with a cool and wet weekend.  And the final massed bands included an ever increasing tempo on the march off trying to beat the RAIN!


A great weekend for all competitors.... including RMM3 (my son is the Pipe Major), placed 1st on Sunday!   Finishing their first year in Grade 3 VERY strong!   Congrats to RMM5 for your AMAZING season and aggregate win!

Best of luck to all the Pipe Bands headed to Scotland to compete at the Worlds!

And a list of Vancouver area fabric stores has been posted on Sewaholic.net!

A quilt challenge

Needle and I Quilt Shop has a summer challenge.  Here is my challenge entry...

WIP Wednesday ~ Onto the Longarm ~ Row by Row 2015

Using Curve Piecing

With a lighthouse....

This is my lighthouse quilt block.  The the fabrics are leftovers from the kits I bought.   I started with the water, building up the layers of sand and rock, then adding clouds and sky.   The technique I used is detailed at Red Pepper Quilts.

After I had a finished the background, I started building my lighthouse.

My completed blocks.

My scrap pile from the kits.... some of this
is still usable.  I will cut it into small pieces
later.....

At this point I packed up my temporary sewing space and drove home with the kids from camp..... The quilt now needed boarders.... I stopped by a local store and picked up some black for sashing.  And then used the background from the crab, seahorse and octopus for a thin accent.

Complete top with sashing

Loaded on the frame

On the last row of sashing quilting. 
Next back to quilt the blocks

A cute little horse.....

While I was away 2 of my machines were in for a cleaning and checkup.  So when getting my embroidery machine back I had to test it out.....

The right is the test stitch out from the shop!  I love that they chose the same design that I go to when having problems..... If I can't get a design to work, then I will often clean the machine, then stitch out this same butterfly!

The kids sewing machine is in the shop and I'll pick it up Friday (its ready, just don't have time to drive out!)

WIP Wednesday ~ Row by Row ~ More blocks

These fish need some friends!

After finishing 8 rows for row by row Experience, I decided I needed some friends for my Angel Fish, Clown Fish and Puffer fish....

Right or Wrong Side?

Since I am at Piping Camp, my selection of background fabric is limited..... so I had this wonderful green and blue verigated, but it has silvery flowers dashed around it... but the back is beautiful.... So sometimes the wrong side is RIGHT for a project!




So digging through my fabrics leftover from the kits.... I came up with some friends ~ an Octopus, Seahorse and crab...  Some sketching, then cutting, and soon I had some more fish!

And ocean full of sea creatures!

So what is next for my Row by Row?   A lighthouse!

NOTE: My crab, seahorse and octopus are SELF DESIGNED and are NOT part of the Row by Row Experience.

Tonight my daughters competed in a dance choreography competition.... and my oldest daughter and son competed last nigth in a piping competition.   Last night there were 2 2nd place finishers, and tonight my oldest daughter won the competition! 

WIP Wednesday ~~ More Row by Row

I am working on the rows from the Row by Row Experience.

I have completed the assembly and applique for 5 more blocks.  I haven't done any of the stitching around the objects yet....   But I haven't decided if they all "fit" in one quilt.... 

Why am I struggling to get these to all fit in the same quilt?  Some is fabric, some is pattern and mostly trying to figure out a good shape.... I don't want a quilt 36"x72".....  For those quilt shops, maybe a few more quilt shops could create vertical rows next year!    Or the shape could change?  

Row 3:  From Country Folk Fabrics.   The middle row with the paper pieced waves....

My first 3 rows complete

Row 4: From Hamel's Fabrics:  Just noticed that one of the blocks isn't sailing the correct way.... Oops.... but I'm not putting them as a whole row.  Probably independent blocks to make the quilt  a better shape......

Boats!

On Friday we drove to Kamloops for the Highland Games on Saturday.  On our way down, we managed to find 3 more quilt stores.  I picked up 2 kits and one patterm..... The kids did great.  My 9yo placed 2nd in her drumming, my 12yo got a 3rd and 6th in Grade 5 Piping and my 14yo son got a 1st, 2nd & 4th for Grade 2 Piping and got the aggregate for his grade for the 3rd year in a row at this games!  Their bands each placed first

Grade 2 Piping Solos

Grade 5 Piping solos

Beginner Drumming Solos

Band Performance

Beautiful clouds rolled in to keep us cool.... but they also got us wet!

Band at the line

Row 5: From Quited Treasures in Coquitlam.   I decided after making the whole row to cut this into thirds for a row down the side.... I think I will design 3 more fish along these ideas to complete one for each row of my finished quilt....

Row 6:From Katja's Quilt Shoppe in Kamloops, BC.  This is a beautiful wave block. 

Row 7: From A Great Notion in Abbotsford.   Each location of A Great Notion has different blocks.  I didn't go to the Surrey/Langley store to pick up their blocks because I'm not a fan of sunbonnnet Sue....  But I love this BC River Block!

All blocks laid out together.... 
Really wish I had a VERTICAL block!
So I'm making my own....

Row 8: From Thread and Paper, I struggled a little with this block as the insturctions weren't clear (to me as a novice to appliqué).  And a piece of fabric was missing.  So I modified to pattern a little to use the pieces of browns I had.   They did offer to send me the missing fabric, but I had already finished the block!   So great customer service. 

Next step is to sash the blocks in the quilt.... and probably design some other blocks.....  I think I need a lighthouse silhouette block.... 

Other Activities: I am also designing a quilt for the Anniversary Contest at Needle & I Quilt Shop.... I am going to use my embroidery machine when I get home. Currently "playing" in Embird....

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and WIP Wednesdy at Needle and Thread Network.....